A Leaf's Aimless Journey
by InhumanNexus
Summary: With nothing but time and a past to reflect on, one needs a distraction; a project to occupy unsavory thoughts and keep your eyes looking forward. For one with Naruto's lifespan, caught up in the wake of the growing conflict in the Four Nations, maybe making a difference in the lives of three young women is just the distraction he needs.


**Oh. Hi. You've caught me doing my favorite thing. Starting projects without finishing my last one and surely disappointing one loyal fanbase I may or may not have had.**

 **Oh well.**

 **YES. This is what it appears to be. A 'NarutoxAvatar: The Last Airbender' crossover. Not the first, or the last, but still unique in its own regards. And, if you have caught my other stories, you know I like unique.**

 **What can you expect from this little story? A cool adventure shared amongst friends, high FPS fight scenes, a stellar soundtrack, romance, and cabbages. If that won't grab your attention, then I truly have no idea where to go from here.**

 **For the pairing, I'm pulling towards NarutoxTyLeexMaixAzula. Though, that's not ENTIRELY set in stone as of right meow. Don't you love an Author who doesn't even plan ahead when he writes?**

 **Anywho - here we go. Take your seats, strap in/on, and get ready for a wild ride. Story starts up in the year prior to Aang's awakening from his tribute to 'Trapped Under Ice' by Metallica. Welcome to 'A Leaf's Aimless Journey'.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar:The Last Airbender**

 **This story is brought to you by the letter 'Q'**

 **(A Leaf's Aimless Journey)**

It had been more than a few years on this Earth for Naruto. Certainly more than one would consider a normal lifespan. Not that it was really his fault. After all, the combination of a rather potent life force - thanks to his mother's side - coupled with Kurama's essence, made for a rather interesting circumstance regarding one's lifespan. In his case, among many other things, his aging - or lack thereof - was one of them. Sure, he wasn't immortal. His body certainly felt older as the years passed, but at the rate it was going, the blonde knew it would be more than a while before he died of natural causes. How old was he now?

Two hundred? Three hundred years? Fifty? Shit. He stopped counting when he realized the number would be too high for his liking. Oh, how things had changed. He certainly felt the part of the old man from time to time, occasionally remembering life back in the Elemental Nations as if it was this ancient and forgotten time. Well, it certainly was forgotten.

When Naruto had first branched out his sights to visiting other parts of the world, he had started to realize just how isolated the Elemental Nations were - even more so the shinobi villages. Hell, outside of the Nations there wasn't even mention of shinobi - at least not in the aspect of what he had grown up with - and certainly no mention of any of the Great Wars. It was funny to him, in a ironic sort of way.

Madara Uchiha had been this imposing, world ending, being one hundred percent capable of enslaving the world in his Genjutsu, and almost succeeding, yet here were all these countries and peoples who were perfectly oblivious. Then there was the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya. Made him think if there were any world ending catastrophes that had been resolved in other parts of the world without his knowing.

In this part of the world, there were four great powers. Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. Not only in nation name, but also in combat. In these nations, the populace were divided into two different categories. Benders and non-Benders. Those who had the natural ability to 'bend' an element to their will, and those who didn't. It was much like having an affinity for a certain element back in the Elemental Nations, but with some differences. For one, if one had an affinity for Earth here, that was it - they would not be able to bend any of the other elements, unlike back home where a shinobi could have a primary affinity but still utilize other elements. Though, from what little he had seen, the potential for complete and utter mastery over an element made up for. Having seen an Earthbender in his travels, Naruto concluded the level of mastery they had over their element made even a shinobi with a Earth affinity seem like an unskilled genin. The way the Earth moved and reshaped with a gesture of hands, or feet, was remarkable. It seemed far more reliable than using handseals.

Though, Naruto wouldn't give up his jutsu for all the bending in the world. It was far too versatile to abandon. Though, he did once recall overhearing something about what the people in these countries call someone who can manipulate all of the elements. The Avatar. _'How catchy'_ , he had decided upon first hearing it. Apparently, there was only ever one Avatar at any given time and his or her's sole job as an Avatar was to uphold the balance between all four of the nations.

Lot of good that did. There was a war going on - had been for a while, from what he gleamed here and there. Some sort of dispute, or misunderstanding, or whatever and the Fire Nation had suddenly launched a three front war against the other nations. Naruto didn't know too much about it. He'd have been fine not knowing anything about it, but one picks things up in passing. Especially considering he currently resided in the Fire Nation. The capital, no less.

Why the Fire Nation? Maybe it reminded him of his old home in the Land of Fire - where fire in general was very symbolic to his old shinobi brethren. The Will of Fire, and all that. Perhaps he felt some sort of connection to the country, with its very similar form of government and emphasis on military structure. Traits such as honor, duty, patriotism, strength were all praised here.

Maybe it was just because it just so happened to be the nation Naruto was travelling through when he finally decided to cease all the walking around aimlessly and try and find somewhere to call a home.

That may be it.

Naruto claimed his home in the Fire Nation capital. He had for the past several years now. He kept to himself mostly - keeping his skills sharp mostly out of boredom, though with some motivation to not simply become stagnant. He did so carefully, however. While the option of joining the Fire Nation military had crossed his mind once or twice, though mostly as a fleeting 'what if', he had yet to truly decide to reveal himself and all that would imply.

These days, when not training, or performing a here or there odd job, the blonde kept relaxed, usually out front of his small home - a simple one floor house of polished brick that fit in well with the rest of the city's decor. Sitting in a self-crafted wooden chair is where we currently found Naruto, the back of his chair leaning against the wall to his small abode with its two front legs in the air. Atop his head, a hat of straw that's sole purpose was to keep the sun from his eyes while he slept.

"Uhm... excuse me, m-mister?"

The soft voice, coupled with a light tug on his sleeve, woke Naruto up from his rather pleasant nap. With an incoherent mumble, he pushed up on his makeshift sun visor and let his eyes adjust to the brightness, blinking away his sleep and the wetness in his eyes from the sudden light. Naruto let out a yawn, rubbing one of his eyes. "Hmm?" He hummed questionably, finally getting enough senses returned to acknowledge the interruption. Before him, a small girl - dressed very well with her hair tied up neatly in two pig tails on either side of her head. She stood with her hands behind her back and her feet shifted below her nervously. Naruto figured she couldn't be older than six. "Hey there, little girl." He greeted with a bright and warm smile.

The little girl squirmed slightly, right before she managed to muster her courage and say, "Mister, I wanna see the cool glowy thing again."

Naruto chuckled, sitting up completely in his chair and allowing it to sit on all four of its legs now, adjusting the hat on his head to fully reveal his face. His whiskers were still, without a doubt, the first eye-grabbing thing about his facial features - three on each cheek. Closer observation would make one realize they were, in fact, not drawn on or tattooed, but actual indents in his face that had a very discernible texture to them. Kids loved them, he noticed. They always liked to poke them and 'ooh' and 'ahh'. It always made Naruto laugh.

With the appearance of a nineteen year old, Naruto looked down at the girl, dwarfing her completely even seated as he was. The years had been kind to him, especially when his diet had changed abruptly all those years ago. From the scrawny, barely over five foot, youth of his younger days, Naruto now stood easily at six foot and two inches when standing fully. His body composition had certainly become more defined as well. The baby fat that clung to his body as a child was gone, replaced by a very cut physique that was only attainable through years of consistent exercise and proper dieting.

It was not at all uncommon for the blonde to catch the eye of passing women. Often, he'd feel a stare on him and glance over in the direction his instincts were telling him only to lock gazes with a young woman - or women in some cases. He'd offer a warm smile, their faces would redden. Some would look away, others would offer a little wave of their fingers. It was still a fairly new experience for the man, if he had to be honest with himself.

His clothes were fairly spartan. A pair of sandals on his feet, visible underneath his baggy pants - made from cotton, dyed blue, and very cheap in appearance, with obvious self-repair made with patches of slightly miscolored cloth here and there along their length. His top was a vest reminiscent of his old one that he sported as a child. Though, it was considerably less bulky. Lightweight and colored orange. It was left open currently, revealing a fishnet undershirt. His right arm was wrapped in tape - from his entire fist up to his elbow, hidden by his sleeve.

Finally, underneath his straw hat, was a patch of blonde hair, slightly shorter than how he kept it in his younger days, but still very easy to spot in a crowd. Not that he didn't mind too much.

"Hmmm..." Naruto feigned deep thought at the girl's question, his index finger tapping on his chin thoughtfully as the girl waited nervously for his response. "I suppoooose..." He leaned in slowly, voice lowering to a hush. "As long as you still promise to keep it a secret." His grin widened further at the girl's furious nodding - her own smile beaming up at him in barely contained excitement. Glancing left, then right, he looked back at the young lady and held out his hand. Slowly, a Rasengan formed - the ball of blue chakra swirling and glowing beautifully in his hand, the color shining in the girl's starstruck eyes.

"Ooooh." She awed cutely, previous nervousness forgotten as she stared at the blue orb. Slowly, she reached out to try and touch it tentatively, to which Naruto retracted the hand and offered his other in a 'stop' manner.

"Now, now - no touching. You could get hurt." He warned. The girl looked up at him, confused.

"Mister, how could something so pretty hurt me?" She asked, innocence shining in those brown orbs of hers.

Naruto chuckled softly, eyes only softening at the girl's innocent question. "Even a rose has thorns, sweetie."

"But roses mean love, mister." The girl stated, her head tilting to the side in confusion.

"They can, yes." It was time for Naruto's eyebrow to raise thoughtfully, but he still held his smile. This little one was certainly full of observations, wasn't she?

"Well, I think this is prettier than a rose, mister." The girl said as a matter of fact. "... does that mean it will hurt me more than a rose, mister?"

"It can, yes." Naruto replied simply, still holding the Rasengan out for her to admire.

She looked back down at the ball, pausing for a few seconds, before looking back up at him. "You won't let it hurt me, right mister?"

Naruto's gaze softened further, shoulders losing a bit of their tension as he relaxed his posture completely - as if leaving himself unguarded to the young creature before him. "Of course not."

The young girl giggled. "Teehee. You're really nice, mister."

"So are you... what's your name?" He asked her, finally deciding to dissipate the Rasengan, lest wandering eyes catch notice.

"Yuki. What's yours?"

"Naruto."

"Na-ru-to..." Yuki repeated slowly, looking off in thought. She looked back at him suddenly, clasping her hands together at her front. "I like your name." She said with a slight blush on her face, staring up at him with an expression one would find on any young, starstruck, girl with a crush on a celebrity-figure.

Naruto laughed. "I like your name, too, Yuki." This had certainly turned out to be an interesting little distraction, he decided. One he welcomed happily.

"Yuki~!" An older woman's voice called out from a distance. Yuki snapped out of her starstruck stare and turned around to look in the direction the call had come from.

"Oh, that sounds like my mommy." She turned back to Naruto, twiddling her thumbs. "Th-thank you, Mr. Naruto." She didn't want to go just yet, Naruto could tell. Truth be told, he was enjoying the little interaction, but he wasn't about to keep a young girl from her mother.

"Go on, Yuki. Your mother will start to worry." He raised his taped hand up to grasp at his hat, plucking it off his head to reveal his blonde hair to the light. He casually dropped it atop Yuki's head, chuckling lightly when she 'meep!'ed as the hat sank down to her forehead, being a tad bigger than her still developing head. She grasped at the tip and tilted it back, staring up at Naruto with another wondrous stare, before she smiled big and bright for him.

"Thanks, mister!" She thanked exuberantly, taking a couple of steps back to wave at him before she turned around and ran off to find her mother, a hand on her new hat to keep it from blowing off of her. Her mother had just turned the corner and she smiled at seeing Yuki run towards her. She raised an eyebrow at seeing her new piece of apparel adorning her head, but only smiled when the young girl hugged her leg.

Naruto leaned back into his chair, watching the exchange through one open eye, smiling as he watched them leave - giving a little wave as Yuki looked back at him to wave one last time before turning the corner and disappearing from his sight. When they left, Naruto let out a long sigh, smile faltering ever so slightly.

 **( Later That Afternoon )**

The soft clack of Naruto's sandals was drowned out by the bustling marketplace he currently found himself passing through. In his right hand, a bundle of cloth was gripped loosely at the knot - tied up with a simple box knot that kept its contents nice and secured. A small lunch of recently baked bread and cooked meat, wrapped in its own cloth within the bundle. Another sigh escaped Naruto's lips.

He had been sighing a lot like that lately, he decided. What a content, simple, life he led now. At the peak of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, he'd have welcomed a life like this with open arms. Just him, his friends, his village - all living on together happily. Training only to compete among themselves like the naive kids they were, as if death and war wasn't the norm outside of Fire Country. Naruto snorted.

 _'How morbid. I'm going to depress myself.'_ He allowed a small chuckle to escape, his eyes closing thoughtfully as he began to hum a tune to himself. Fate was cruel sometimes, he decided. As a child, he was alone. As a young adult, he was surrounded with companions. Now, an old man - by definition - he was alone again. The sting was twice as bad having experienced such camaraderie in his youth.

The roar of the crowd around him picked up and it snapped Naruto out of his thoughts. His eyes glanced about curiously, before becoming acutely aware of a part in the crowd forming before him. Though, not for him, he noted with a mock dejection internally. It only took a couple seconds longer for the blonde to identify the source of the commotion. _'Hmm... today is certainly proving interesting.'_

Entering the marketplace from the opposite side, Fire Princess Azula stepped forward - her stride confident as she held her head up high, her brown eyes looking left and right as the citizens of the capital parted for her and showed her due respect. There was a noticeable smirk on her face as she continued her stride, fists clenched and arms swinging purposefully as she walked. All the traits of a confident woman - perhaps arrogant, if one would be so bold to call her such. No one, yet, was so bold.

Behind her, a small escort of uniformed Fire Nation soldiers. More than likely they were present as just a formality. Many knew the Fire Princess' prowess in combat - many having heard the stories of the teen besting seasoned commanders and Firebenders more than twice her age. She did her Nation proud as the up and coming ruler, and she knew it. Flanking her to the left and right, offset her by a couple of paces of course, were the two closest things she'd label as friends. Ty Lee and Mai - the acrobatic performer and stoic knife-thrower respectively.

"I'm bored, Zuly." Ty Lee stated frankly, arms above her head as she stretched with a yawn.

"You usually are when the attention of the room is not focused on you, Ty Lee." Mai observed in a flat tone, glancing to her left at Ty Lee, who only scoffed.

"Ouch. Claws out today, Mai?" Ty Lee stuck her tongue out at Mai from behind Azula, who did not break stride or acknowledge her companions' bickering.

"Today?" Mai deadpanned.

Dropping the topic for now, Ty Lee looked around at the crowd of people that had parted for them. Well, for Azula - but Ty Lee pretended it was partly because of her. It felt good. Of course, with the crowd parting so suddenly, all three of them noticed the anomaly right away - in the form of a tall blonde whom kept his lunch clutched loosely in his bandage-wrapped right arm.

" _Cough_ hottiealert _cough_." Ty Lee signaled not so subtly, covering her mouth with a hand as she peeked ahead of them. Mai's eyebrow raised in obvious curiosity. Few displayed the intestinal fortitude to not break their stride with the princess of the Fire Nation approaching with her escort. Azula did not seem amused.

They two parties proceeded towards each other, until they both stopped a fair ten paces apart. Naruto regarded the three of them with an even stare, almost seeming confused as to why they had stopped and who they were. His lips pursed slightly and he seemed to appear expectant of the group before him to do - say - anything.

Azula was all too happy to be the one to break the silence, face contorting into an arrogant sneer. "Step aside, peasant." She commanded with authority, appearing disgusted she even had to say such a thing; disgusted to even be acknowledging the man before her.

Naruto appeared genuinely contemplative at the 'suggestion'. His free hand raised to rub his chin, his brow furrowing and a low 'hmm' reverberating from the back of his throat. Azula twitched. After a few seconds of thought on the blonde's part, he finally lowered his hand. Closing his eyes and smiling wide and bright for the ladies before him, he presented his answer:

"No."

Azula blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. "Ex-cuse me?" She demanded after a couple seconds, eyes narrowing dangerously as her infamous temper already showed signs of rising steadily. To her left, Ty Lee didn't even bother to stifle her giggle. Mai, on her other side, only regarded the blonde before them with a calculating expression, glancing back and forth between him and Azula.

"Yeah, I said no." The tall blonde reiterated, eyes opening now, but that same smile still wide on his face - blue eyes warm and full of life as he looked between the three ladies and the masked guards behind them. They looked to be in their mid to late teens, Naruto noted. Ty Lee seemed the more flamboyant of the bunch, what with her soft giggle, attractive grin, and less than concealing apparel - her midriff exposed between her baggy pants and top. Mai, the onyx-haired girl to Azula's right, appeared to play the role of the reserved and stoic of the bunch, what with her incredibly conservative style of clothing - appearing very regal, yet clearly tailored to allow mobility if need be - and her eyes inquisitive as they regarded him with suspicion and an underlying annoyance. The last one, well-

"Do you know who I am?" Azula questioned haughtily, fists clenched, her bodyguards already moving, circling to surround Naruto on both sides. He almost snorted at their apparent show of force.

"Nnnnot really. Does it matter?" Of course he knew who she was. Princess Azula - Daughter of the Fire Lord Ozai. Naruto had to admit, while it wasn't terribly surprising to see her, what with being so close to the Royal Palace - coming across the Fire Nation princess was not on his list of things to do today. A fast irate becoming princess to boot, he noted with bemusement.

"Then allow me to introduce myself, peasant." Azula practically spat the word out. "I am the Princess of the Fire Nation. Daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, next in line for rule over the Fire Nation, and on that authority-!"

"I don't care if you're a princess. Think you're the first princess I've met?" Naruto chuckled, only serving to further infuriate the hot head before him. "Certainly not the most attractive one, I'd say."

Blue fire flared up around Azula's fists, her teeth clenching, practically in awe of this nobody speaking to her like this. How dare he! And it didn't help that Ty Lee was STILL giggling next to her. Azula sent a sharp glare to her brunette friend, who took the hint and coughed, attempting to cover up her laughter poorly. Azula trained her glare back on Naruto. "How dare you! That stupid look on your face will be seared into the stone, peasant!" She shouted, preparing to do just that.

"Your majesty, please, allow us. You need not exert the effort." One of her guards spoke up, stepping towards Naruto. Azula's stance relaxed slightly, and she merely huffed a go ahead, though, a smug smirk did adorn her face. Naruto only raised an eyebrow, his grin dropping as he regarded the approaching firebender in a deadpan manner. "A lesson on how to treat one's social betters appears to be in order, boy." He reached out to grab Naruto by the forearm.

Said guard suddenly found himself lodged into the wall off to the side comically, an outline forming in the concrete to perfectly mold to his twitching body. The other two guards gasped in surprise and began trying to dislodge their companion, one pulling at his leg, the other pulling his comrade's arm. Their efforts were fruitless.

Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai all bore a similar, flabbergasted, visage - their jaws dropped and mouths forming an 'O' in shock. Naruto only stood in place, still, the same eyebrow raised, but his grin returning to offer an unspoken challenge to the girls. Azula was the first to recover, growling in anger. A great ball of blue fire kicked things off, courtesy of the insulted princess.

Dropping his bagged-lunch on the ground, Naruto kneeled down to one knee, flashing through a series of handseals and slamming his hands down on the ground. **"Doton: Doryūheki(Earth Release:Earth-Style Wall)!"** A solid wall of rock rose up in front of him swiftly, Azula's blue flames striking it, blowing away several chunks of the outer portion, leaving Naruto safe from harm. He regarded the large chunks blown away curiously. 'Little fire cracker has some punch.'

"An Earthbender?!" Azula shouted in disbelief, having caught the rising of the wall before smoke erupted from her attack failing to hit her target. "Kill him!" Her companions sprung into action, their shock and amusement switching to a more professional air as they regarded Naruto as an enemy to defeat now. They were forced to split and jump away as several blocks from Naruto's wall flew at them. They missed by a long shot - not that Naruto was actually intending to kill the girls.

The smoke quickly dissipated and the Fire Nation soldiers went on the offensive - each shooting a concentrated stream of fire at the blonde. Naruto jumped high, leaping over the jets and landing next to his opponents, who could only marvel at his feat. They turned their stance to face him and attack again, but Naruto was far more swift. He lashed out, striking one of the guards square in his armored chest, shattering his equipment and sending him flying back from the force of the blow. He slid across the ground, unconscious.

Naruto dodged left as an orange fireball soared past him, closing the distance on his next target, sprinting at the guard far faster than the man anticipated. The Firebender's response was to try and send another stream of fire in Naruto's direction, deciding it didn't matter how fast the blonde was as long as he knew what direction he was coming from. This proved unfruitful as Naruto appeared behind the Firebender suddenly, the soldier barely having time to turn around before- **"Konoha Senpū(Leaf Whirlwind)!"** A strong spin-kick struck the guard's exposed left side and sent him tumbling away.

Now with the unnamed henchmen dealt with, it time to focus on the girls. Naruto spun in place, dropping into his stance as Ty Lee had closed the distance on him quickly. She struck out at him, Naruto noting the girl's fingers - her index and middle finger outstretched, extended and joined, in a manner he recognized all too well. 'Doubt she knows about Tenketsu. Probably striking for pressure points. Curious style for one her age. Impressive.' Even for one as experienced as him, her style could prove annoying if he let himself get hit, which was out of the question. He brought his arm up, batting aside her arm by striking her wrist with his forearm.

Ty Lee's eyes widened as her swift, and usually accurate, attack was batted aside harmlessly. _'Fast!'_ She attempted to follow-up on her initial failed strike with another fast attack, lashing out with her other hand. Naruto's left hand shot up, his index and middle finger mirroring hers as it struck into her forearm and redirected her arm upwards. Ty Lee yelped in surprise at having her own style used on her. _'He can strike pressure points, too? No fair!'_ She could already feel that arm going numb - as ironic as that sounded.

Ty Lee crouched down quickly, spinning and using the momentum to try and deliver a fierce spin-kick to his stomach. Naruto leaned back and let the kick fly past his face. Of course, with her side exposed, he went in for the kill.

In the shape of clenching his fist and slapping it against the side of her thigh, forcing a minor quadricep contusion or, in layman's terms, dead legging the girl. "Owie!" Ty Lee exclaimed childishly, her entire left leg going numb after that sharp bout of pain. She could barely get back into her stance with her arm and leg briefly out of commission.

"Hey, pretty lady." Naruto greeted casually, grinning sideways at the woman as he appeared in front of her, who could only blink owlishly at his sudden appearance and statement. She had no time to react as Naruto brought up his hand to her forehead, his index finger held back by his thumb, before administering a flick to her forehead that hurt far more than she would have expected, dropping her on her butt, leaving her seeing stars - blots of black filling her vision as she struggled to regain her bearings in the half-numb mess she was.

Naruto didn't stand to gloat, being forced to jump back and out of the way of another large blue fireball. In mid-air, Naruto suddenly pulled out a kunai and batted away several stiletto. His eyes looked about and they finally laid themselves on to Mai, whose arm was still outstretched from sending the projectiles his way. Her expression twisted back to shock at having her weapons so easily batted away. _'She's good. If those had landed, they'd have hit each of my vitals. Almost as good as Haku was. Not bad.'_ Though appraising Mai internally, he returned his attention back to the fight. _'Let's see how she likes it.'_ With a flick of his wrist, his free hand suddenly became filled with shuriken - each one held in-between his fingers. He reeled his hand back and sent them sailing at Mai, who barely had enough time to leap back to avoid the weapons - the shuriken lodging into the wall behind where the girl had been standing. Normally, he'd have used **Shuriken Kage Bunshin(Shuriken Shadow Clone)** , but he didn't want to riddle the girl with holes.

Naruto landed, leaping forward to focus on Mai now. Even with her attempting to gain distance from him, throwing weapons at him all the while, the blonde shinobi closed the distance on her in no time. Mai prepared herself for a close-quarters fight, clutching a needle in one hand tightly as Naruto came within range. She slashed sideways at him, which Naruto ducked under. To her surprise, his figure became a blur, passing by her. Mai hardly had time to acknowledge what he was doing before a sharp glare of the sun's reflection caught her eyes. She had no time to react as she found herself wrapped in wire.

With her arms and legs trapped together, she couldn't move and would be easy to render off-balance, which Naruto took advantage of by merely giving the girl a light push to her back and sending her forward and into the dirt with an indignant, "Ah!"

"Don't struggle, okay? You'll just cut yourself up and I'd rather not cut your clothes." Naruto grinned at her sheepishly. Though, she wouldn't be able to see it, her cheek in the dirt. Though, Naruto didn't see the girl's face flush - more in anger than actual embarrassment.

"Pervert!" She accused, her tone laced with venom.

Naruto spluttered at the sudden accusation against his integrity. "Am not! I could've just cut it all off!" He defended with a huff. Their spat was short-lived as Naruto was forced to jump away again, though this time to dodge what appeared to be a bolt of lightning. "Whoa! Lightning? Cool!"

Azula grit her teeth at his dismissal to her abilities as little more than a parlor trick. In a matter of seconds, this infuriating blonde had rendered her personal escort and her two friends unable to fight. He made it seem so easy! By Agni, who was this man? "Hold still, you infuriating peasant!" She shouted at him, anger long since having gotten the best of her. At least with him away from Mai now, she was able to shoot off her larger attacks, intent on scorching the man completely and utterly in one go.

Naruto jumped out of each attack's path each time with ease, regarding the destruction with a minor sweatdrop. If there had been anyone around, he'd be more inclined to stop her, but the citizens had long since cleared out of the area. "Calm down, Fire Cracker!" He yelled, teasing the irate princess, which only served to infuriate her more.

"I am the Princess!" She repeated her earlier statement harshly, not stopping in her barrage. "Now! Stand! Still!" Azula commanded with a fireball after each word for emphasis.

"So, you like to play with fire?" Naruto's expression became mischievous. "How's about you try and do something other than launching a bunch of lame fire balls then? Here, let me show you how it's done!" He called out, effectively halting Azula's reckless attack pattern.

 _'What? N-no way. He's an Earthbender, though! I saw him use the Earth! He doesn't fight like any Earthbender I've ever seen, but there's no way he can use fire too! Unless... the Avatar?!'_ The Princess's eyes widened at the possible realization.

Landing one final time, the blonde flashed through another series of handseals, ending abruptly on Tora. **"Katon: Karyū Endan(Fire Release:Dragon's Flame)!"** Leaning back, Naruto gathered his chakra in his lungs, before blowing it forward - kneading his fire chakra to form a literal fire dragon that slithered from his person into the air and directly at Azula.

Azula looked on in amazement. She had never seen such manipulation of fire before. She didn't even care that the blonde had used more than one element at this point, she was too astounded at the beautiful display of ember before her. Only the reminder of her current peril snapped her out of her awe. She struck out with her arms, launching an impressive amount of blue fire at the dragon for it to meet head on. The two attacks collided, the two fires mixing together, turning a hot, bright, white from the pure heat displayed from both attacks before exploding outwards in a large swirl of flame.

Azula panted, sweat marring her face - the heat. By Agni, the pure heat! She wanted to convince herself it was the effect of her own flames that left the air scorched, but she knew better - and it struck a blow to the Fire Princess's pride. Who was this man? To have such a power with flame. Her legs trembled, many emotions encroaching her thoughts slowly at the realization of being so outclassed at firebending. She had bested warriors twice, three times, her age and for this man, who hardly looked older than any of them to do so?

The flames quickly died out and Azula immediately attempted to try and locate the blonde man but found she could not. Her eyes darted around frantically, trying her damnedest to locate her opponent. _'Left? Right? Above!'_ She looked up in the air, fully expecting and prepared to attack Naruto, but was met with nothing. Azula blinked in surprise. _'Then, does that mean-!?'_

" **Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu(Earth Release:Double Suicide Decapitation)**!" A pair of hands broke from the earth beneath Azula and grabbed both of her ankles. Azula barely had time to register shock before she found herself buried to her neck in the ground. She squirmed, doing her best to dislodge herself, but the weight of the rock around her would not budge. Azula ceased her struggling as a figure blotted out the sun above her and she looked up, looking into the grinning face of the man she was fast starting to despise.

"You... y-you-!" Azula could barely contain her anger - this humiliation! This. ONE. MAN! This one man had not only bested her guards and her companions, but had bested her completely and utterly. He didn't even look like any of what he did forced him to break a sweat. And that grin. Agni, she wished she could just cauterize his mouth closed. Anything to remove that stupid grin on his face.

"Me." Naruto confirmed with a nod, further angering the princess.

"Who do you think you are!?" Azula spat out, again trying to squirm in the earth to try and free herself to no avail. "Are you the Avatar?!"

Naruto idly scratched at his whiskers. "Curious about little ol' me, Fire Cracker?" He tilted his head, lowering his hand as he continued to stare down at Azula. "You can just call me Naruto. Naruto Namikaze. And no Avatar here. Sorry to disappoint you." He squatted down, balancing on his feet. "And you." He reached out with his index finger and booped the fire princess's nose, who could only turn red in both anger and humiliation. "You're just a spoiled little princess with a lot to learn, ain'cha?" The combination of his words and that ever-present grin on his face - words couldn't describe Azula's ire. "But that's okay. I've seen worse." Naruto stood up abruptly, shoving his hands into his pockets as he continued to look down on the girl. Azula blinked. "Well, it's been fun, my little Fire Cracker. If you ever want to again for the hell of it, I live just around the corner." Naruto gestured with his hand back behind him.

"Always like visitors. Gets awfully dull around here."

 _'What is he thinking? I could just easily return with far more soldiers.'_ The thought alone struck another blow to Azula's pride - as if she had just admitted to herself she was no match for this man alone.

"Wwwwelp!" He turned around began to walk away, passing Mai and Ty Lee, leaving them both still tied up and numb respectively. "Till next time, Fire Cracker, Pretty Lady, Needles." Kneeling down just enough to pick up his unharmed lunch, he gave them all a wave over his shoulder.

Azula simmered, her glare piercing the blonde's back as he walked away. Ty Lee only just started to get feeling back in her limbs and she quickly made to try and awkwardly help Mai unwrap herself from the ninja wire. "Owie, owie." Ty Lee moaned, almost hopping on her one good leg to try and make herself useful. "Who the heck was that?" She asked no one in particular, trying to fumble with the wire on Mai.

"I am just as much in the dark as you are, Ty Lee." Mai grumbled, still rather indignant at the whole situation.

Ty Lee 'shh'ed her friend and knelt down to practically get in the girl's face and said, in a not so quiet whisper, "He was soooooo cute. OhmyGod." Mai deadpanned at her friend's antics.

At this point, Azula ignored Ty Lee and Mai and only watched the blonde intently until he rounded the corner and out of sight. _'Naruto Namikaze...'_ She repeated in her head. Her eyes narrowed. She bit her lip in an effort to calm her fury, managing to draw a small amount of blood in the process. Humiliation aside, this was an issue that needed to be brought up to her father. Not that she was looking forward to it.

 **( Later - Royal Palace )**

The heavy footfalls of a scorned princess could be heard well in advance, allowing servants and guards the time to clear the area lest they become a target of Azula's anger. Said princess stomped towards the throne room, her fists still clenched, and that same sneer as before glued to her face. Clearly, the princess had yet to really calm down. Closely behind, her friends followed after her. Well, Mai managed to keep stride easily enough. Ty Lee dragged her bad leg as she practically hopped on her good leg to keep up.

"Slow down, Zuly; my leg is killing me!" Ty Lee whined to little effect. Azula kept her stride.

"Do you not understand the gravity of the situation, Ty Lee?" Azula spat, her gaze forward. "The Avatar has returned. That man displayed an affinity for Earth and Firebending. I must alert my father immediately."

"Hmm, I dunno." Ty Lee mumbled. "I've read about the Avatar. He didn't seem to fit the picture I had. Too aloof. And young. And scrumptious." Ty Lee's appraisals only seemed to annoy Azula further.

"Have you no dignity?" Mai deadpanned, casting a side glance to her brunette friend.

"So I thought he was cute. Bite me, Mai." Ty Lee snorted, her grin plastered still, obviously the least concerned of her three friends about what had just happened. "Just because he made you go full sub-mode in wire doesn't mean you can be a Little-Ms-Grouch."

"Excuse me? Sub-mode?" Mai's eyes narrowed at Ty Lee.

"Will BOTH of you just be quiet?" Azula growled, finally reaching the door to the throne room - the honor guards posted opening the door for the three without question or signal.

Stepping into the large room, Azula hardly broke stride as she cleared across the chamber. On the far side sat none other than the Fire Lord himself - bathed in the glow of fire all around him as he sat upon his throne - eyes closed and meditating. The flames around him flickered and grew with each inhale, lowering only slightly with each exhale. All in all, he struck a rather imposing figure, even seated legs-crossed as he was. When Azula was well within earshot, Ozai didn't even need to open his eyes before recognizing who was responsible for the intrusion. "Daughter." He rumbled - authority heavy in his tone, and an unspoken warning of repercussion if the interruption was not warranted.

"Father!" Azula stopped about six paces from the throne of the Fire Lord, her friends being slightly more cautious and stopping a few feet behind her. "There is a situation! Not but half an hour ago, myself, and my guard, were attacked by a man who displayed the ability to control both Earth and Fire. The Avatar has returned, Father! And he claims to be living not but a stone's throw from the palace walls!"

Ozai's eyes were open, though it was hard to tell with the shadows that danced upon his seated form as the fires danced around him. "The Avatar." He repeated, disbelief heavily evident in his tone. "I am more inclined to believe you let your stature blind you with arrogance and allowed yourself to be bested by a man of common birth."

Azula's teeth clenched slightly, but the stayed her tongue. Mouthing off to her father was not at all something even she would dare do. He was not against disciplining his children harshly. Poor Zuzu. "Respectfully, I know what I saw, Father. My companions can vouch for my report." Ozai's gaze turned to Ty Lee and Mai expectantly, who both started at being put on the spot.

"Y-yes, my Lord. Azula is correct. Not only did he manipulate the Earth and Fire, he also displayed abilities I have not seen in any of our warriors. Any warriors, on that account, my Lord." Mai reported respectfully, being the first between herself and Ty Lee to gather her confidence to speak.

"What she said, my Lord." Ty Lee chimed in with her expert appraisal.

Silence. Seconds passed. Ozai thought deeply on the girls' words. He was still inclined to believe his own evaluation, but the three seemed fixated that someone of outstanding combat ability bested them. He was well aware of his daughter's skills in combat, and while it overshadowed her friends, he did deem Ty Lee and Mai to be capable of holding their own in a skirmish if the need arose. Even in the event that they allowed confidence and pride to cloud their judgement, defeating all three at once - alone - was no small feat. "Naturally you will want to reclaim your honor, Azula." He finally spoke, breaking the near-agonizing silence.

"... yes, Father."

"Then you know what I expect." Ozai stated simply, giving his unspoken command tactfully. His eyes closed again to resume his meditations. "I look forward to a worthy performance come this time tomorrow."

Azula's brow furrowed further, but she did not offer an argument. Instead she merely bowed her head once and said, "Yes, Father."

 **( The Next Day - Naruto's Humble Abode )**

Naruto whistled contently as he added the finishing touches to his breakfast. On today's menu, no less than four pieces of freshly-toasted pieces of bread with eggs fried in the center of each. Simple, but filling. Nothing better to start the day than a couple of servings of healthy carbs and protein, and with lovely weather to boot. Sitting in front of his home, a small table - big enough to comfortably seat only two people - sat in front of him with his food laid out neatly on it. He sat in his homemade chair, facing outward and towards the street. It was an odd sight for some, but some of his neighbors had gotten use to the sight of the blonde's eccentricities. Naruto would offer a wave and a 'morning' to those that passed by, accompanied with a pleasant grin that would inspire similar reactions. Today was special though. After all, he didn't normally eat outside.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto clasped his hands together and stated his thanks for the food, before picking up one of the pieces of egg toast and biting into it happily with a distinctive 'crunch' of the toasted bread. Chewing slowly, his blue eyes remained forward, almost as if he was expecting something. Not long after starting his meal, the buzzing of a crowd could be heard from ahead, in a manner similar to the day prior. Naruto swallowed his bite, his lips widening to a small grin. "Right on time."

Yup, just as he had predicted, from around the corner leading from the marketplace stomped his friends from yesterday. Well, the three girls at least. This time around there was a... noticeably larger escort. Whereas yesterday there had been only three escorts, a simple one-to-one ratio for the Princess and her friends, today there was around ten. More than likely an actual honor guard this time around.

The Princess, at the front of the small formation, looked to and fro rapidly before quickly resting her eyes on the eating blonde - whom chose that moment to take another carefree chomp of his egg toast. Her eyes narrowed and right away she pivoted to walk directly towards him, soldiers following in step behind her. "You!" She exclaimed loudly, stomping up to stop on the other side of the small table, looking down at the blonde with a glare.

"I." Naruto confirmed between chewing. From behind Azula, Ty Lee poked her out and offered Naruto a whimsical wave, which Naruto returned in kind. He liked her, Naruto decided. At least one of them had a sense of humor. He attempted to offer a similar wave to Mai, on Azula's other side, but the dark-haired girl settled for merely staring at him curiously.

Already fast becoming irked, Azula decided it best not to mince words with the blonde for now, less she anger again. "I, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, challenge you to an-!"

"I made breakfast!" Naruto announced after finally swallowing his bite, gesturing to the plate before him. There were three pieces of toast left now. It was almost as if he had counted on the three of them showing up today.

Before Azula could regain her composure to speak again, clearly quite taken aback at the sudden announcement, Ty Lee interjected happily with, "Ooh, don't mind if I do." She bounced on the balls of her feet around Azula and plucked an egg toast from the plate on the table and began munching on it. "Kerm awn, Mai - fwee fwoo." She encouraged Mai with her mouth full, crumbs flying out of her mouth in a rather unsightly manner as she spoke.

Azula twitched furiously.

Mai deadpanned. "No, thank you."

"But I made some for everybody~." Naruto tried in a sing-song tone, clearly disregarding Azula's presence and whatever it was she was going to say before he interrupted her. He then looked past the three girls at the uniformed soldiers behind them. "Well... for the girls, at least." Their masked faces remained stoic.

"Now, now, don't be wewd, Mai-Mai." Ty Lee cooed after swallowing her mouthful of toast.

The Fire Princess' fists clenched and her breathing quickened through her flared nostrils.

"I do not want any toast, Ty Lee." Mai, once again, refused.

"But I worked so hard on them..." Naruto trailed off, pouting playfully.

Ty Lee gasped. "You've gone and hurt the poor man's feelings! Apologize!" She was having fun, clearly - and at Azula's expense.

"I will not."

"Say you're sorry."

"ENOUGH!" With her patience finally snapping, Azula delivered a flaming kick to the table which sent said piece of furniture flying off to the side in several pieces. The table pieces, the plate, and the food all collapsed to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dirt and attracting the wandering eyes of a few pedestrians. Azula breathed in and out heavily, doing her best to satiate her anger and regain composure.

Naruto looked at the food on the ground to his right, before looking at Azula again. Despite his breakfast ruined, he still possessed that infuriating grin on his face. "Feel better?"

Ty Lee slunk away, toast clutched in both of her hands as she continued to nibble on it.

"You have insulted my pride for the last time, you infuriating peasant! I should have you arrested for the blatant disrespect you showed me yesterday! Laying hands on me is a crime-!"

Naruto stared blankly at Azula as she continued to shout at him. Every couple of seconds, he'd slowly raise the toast closer and closer to his mouth - only to lower it slightly each time Azula began to raise her voice, start a new insult or threat, or raise her fist. This continued for several seconds, before finally,

"-Instead, I am offering you a more honorable resolution! I, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, challenge you to an Agni Kai!" Azula finally finished her monologue, pointing a slender finger at Naruto as he remained seated with his toast in-hand. She seemed slightly out of breath, her face flushed - though her glare managing to hold true on her target the entire time.

"... okay." Naruto agreed simply, finally taking another bite out of his toast.

Azula grit her teeth at his casual dismissal to her challenge. "You will be escorted to the Palace's Agni Kai chamber. The Agni Kai will take place within the hour."

Naruto sighed. _'But I didn't get to finish my breakfast.'_

 **( Royal Palace - Agni Kai Chamber )**

"You seem incredibly relaxed, given your current predicament."

Naruto glanced back behind him as the feminine voice broke him from his thoughts. Instantly, he recognized her as 'Mai', from the trio of girls that had seemingly forced their way into his schedule. Though knowing her name, he chose to address her in the manner he had decided for her. "Heya, Needles." Naruto greeted her rather familiarly, waving his fingers at her with a small grin on his face.

Mai's eyes furrowed, a twinge of annoyance on her usually stoic visage. "Why do you address me on such friendly terms? If I recall correctly, the circumstances leading up to this moment between us have not been entirely what one would call 'good'."

Naruto shrugged. "Well, maybe that's just your opinion. I don't hold grudges, and yesterday was fun." His grin dropped suddenly and his expression suddenly steeled itself, a moment of seriousness Mai had not yet seen on the man before. Granted, she hadn't known him barely a full day, but still. It almost made her anxious. "Say, Needles..."

"...yes?"

"..." Naruto said nothing for a couple of seconds, before a sheepish grin appeared on his face, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his head. "What's an Agni Kai?" The dull roar of the crowd waiting ahead of them - around the stone arena - excited and expectant of the match to come suddenly seemed to come to life. On the far side of the arena was Naruto's opponent, Azula herself, resting down on one knee, her back facing him as she mentally prepared herself for the bout.

If Mai were not so disciplined in keeping her composure, she would have face-faulted. "You do not know? And you agreed to partake in one with the Princess of the Fire Nation? In front of the Fire Lord and the top commanders of his army?"

Naruto blinked, head craning to the side as he crossed his arms and merely waited for Mai to continue.

"... are you an idiot, Mr. Naruto?" Mai asked, nearly exasperated.

"Some have called me as such before - yes, ma'am." The blonde nodded.

Mai let out a long sigh. "The Agni Kai is a centuries old tradition in the Fire Nation. It is a Firebending duel used to resolve conflicts and disputes of honor. The duel is begun by the chime of the gong and only ends when one duelist is burned by the other."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh." Naruto rubbed his chin, though his blank expression betraying his actual understanding. Or interest. "And this?" He gestured to the cloth adorning his bare shoulders.

"When you and your opponent face each other, you remove the cloth to signal your ready and wait for the signal for the Agni Kai to begin."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, go on."

"... that's it."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"... hm." Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "So, why am I here again?"

"You buried the princess of the Fire Nation to her neck in the ground after kicking her escort's ass and making a sub out of her knife-throwing friend." A new voice was heard. From behind Mai, Ty Lee walked up, clearly amused at her own joke and the expression on Mai's face.

"He... h-he did not-!" Mai raised her voice ever so slightly to try and emphasize her plight, but it fell on deaf ears as Naruto sweat dropped. Her defense broken, Mai went on the offensive.

"You are one to talk, Ty Lee. You are clearly only here to ogle the challenger." She referred, of course, to Naruto's bare torso as he had adorned the customary garb of an Agni Kai.

"I mean, maybe." It amused Naruto to no end that Ty Lee was so easily forthcoming.

"Isn't this a tad extreme?" Naruto asked, steering the conversation back on track. "Nobody died."

"Methinks thou dost protest too much." Ty Lee scrunched her expression and placed her fist underneath her chin. "I mean, you could have just moved out of the way yesterday."

"I meant more 'why am I here' as a, 'I am not a Firebender, why am I participating in a Firebending duel'?" Naruto clarified, glancing between Mai and Ty Lee.

"Your performance yesterday speaks otherwise, sir." Mai pointed out simply.

"You know - giant flame dragon?" Ty Lee chirped.

"Oh. That. I can see why you'd think that." Naruto admitted with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "Say, why are you two even talking to me right now? I would have assumed you'd be all pissed off like Fire Cracker over yonder?"

"I assure you, Mr. Naruto, I am quite vexed." Mai stated simply. "But also curious. This Agni Kai was not Azula's idea." She added cryptically.

"No?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like you got the attention of the Fire Lord himself, Blondie." Ty Lee giggled. "And, yes, that's usually a bad thing."

"However, he did not order your arrest as one would expect of someone, a man no less, making a public fool out of his daughter." Mai continued her observations further, looking past Naruto at the throne of the Fire Lord that had been prepared for him for viewing the Agni Kai.

"You two are very... forthcoming, no?"

Mai shrugged. "Like I said - I am curious." She turned on her heel and began to step off. "I'd say it is about time for your duel, Mr. Naruto."

Ty Lee would follow shortly after, offering Naruto one last little wave of her fingers. Now, alone, Naruto figured now was as good a time as any to step forward. He sighed, stretched his arms over his head, stifling the natural yawn that would come from it, then walked up the couple of stairs to step out onto the smooth stone that made up the duel platform.

The crowd began to quiet and Azula finally stood up, done preparing herself and readying for the battle about to take place. As she stood, the cloth on her shoulders fell to the ground. She turned as it landed softly on the stone below her bare feet, finally training her gaze on her opponent.

Standing still, arms hanging loosely at his sides - hunched slightly - Naruto gave off the vibe that he, perhaps, didn't want to be here. His expression was unimpressed, eyes almost half-lidded as he seemed bored out of his absolute mind and completely unwilling to be here. Even as his cloth hit the ground, leaving his torso exposed - _'What's with that anyways? So you can see if you get burned? It'd be cool if it wasn't so lame...'_ He thought to himself, sighing long and slow. Across the ways, his opponent seemed to be only provoked by his nonchalance. Her fists were clenched tightly, her torso equally as exposed, minus a tightly-wrapped piece of cloth covering her breasts. _'Well, kudos for combating gender roles, I guess.'_

Azula could only glower at her opponent. Here he was, participating in an Agni Kai against the PRINCESS of the Fire Nation, standing in front of a crowd with the Fire Lord present, and he seemed almost bored with it - with her. 'Has he already written me off as insignificant?' The thought flared her temper further and she decided that enough was enough. If he wasn't going to do anything, she'd end this fast. She'd show him why men twice her age feared her Firebending. _'You caught me off guard last time. I know your tricks and I don't have to worry about Mai or Ty Lee getting caught in the exchange now.'_

The soldier manning the large gong looked between the two combatants, before looking up to the Fire Lord, awaiting his signal to begin. From his throne, Ozai merely gave a firm nod of his head. Clear to begin, the soldier brought back his large mallet, swinging it quickly towards the large, circular, disk. In connected with a resounding, GONG! And with that, the Agni Kai had begun.

Without further ado, Azula acted. Her Firebending sparked, her hands reaching behind her and firing off two sharp bouts of blue flame that would propel her forward at a surprisingly high rate of speed. Her leg was outstretched, coated in blue flame, intent on delivering a sharp kick to Naruto's face that would no doubt take off his head if it connected. Naruto's stare didn't falter.

Just as Azula's foot was about to connect with his face, Naruto leaned back - his body forming an almost perfect ninety degrees seemingly instantaneously, allowing Azula to pass by overhead harmlessly. Azula's eyes widened in disbelief, but she quickly corrected herself, shooting her flame forward to stop her forward motion. She skidded to a stop a couple of meters away from Naruto and dashed forward again, bringing a flaming roundhouse kick his way. Naruto, having regained his stance, hopped back a couple of feet to avoid her deadly strike. Following up her first failed kick, Azula's body continued its circular motion, her other leg coming around to try and land a hit. Naruto would have blocked it this time around, but remembered the rules of the Agni Kai. A burn meant a loss. He wasn't sure he could block her strike as exposed as he was without getting scorched to an extent.

Ducking underneath this attack, Naruto went on the offensive and swept Azula's only planted foot out from underneath her. Her footing lost, Naruto followed-through and delivered a lightning-fast punch to her side that would both send her packing a few feet and leave a nasty bruise for her trouble. Azula grunted in pain, her body sliding across the ground for a few feet before she used the inertia to roll back into her stance and prepare herself again. Though, this time, she had some manner of distance. Instead of closing in on Naruto, this time she brought back both of her fists, ember swirling around her hands, before pushing them both forward, firing off an impressively large blue fireball at the blonde.

"Ooh." Naruto appreciated. The blue was a nice color, he had to admit. Appraisal aside, he prepared his defense. To everyone's gathered surprise, he jumped forward at the Fireball, his body spinning at a high rate of speed. Forming a knife hand, Naruto gathered wind chakra and sharpened it extensively. Combined with the sharpness of his chakra, and his body's rotation, Naruto cut the ball of fire into two smaller ones that would fly past him harmlessly. He landed firmly on his feet after the move, nay a mark or blemish on his skin to signal he had been burnt, and merely regarded Azula with a grin that seemed rather inviting.

To the spectators, very few could begin to understand what happened. The fight was moving at a very fast pace and the first few moments were difficult to keep up with. That last display of Naruto's had been the most surprising thus far. _'Did he just CUT through Princess Azula's fire with his bare flesh_?' was the most commonly asked question.

Fire Lord Ozai, though his expression remaining stoic, was impressed. _'This man... I have not seen anyone this capable in years. His fighting style reminds me of...'_ His thoughts trailed off, the Fire Lord contemplating deeply. He had known from the get-go that Azula would be no match for the blonde. The way he carried himself, the way he spoke, his eyes - they all reflected years of battle. Naruto appeared young, but looks could be deceiving. No - no, this man before him? His past was dyed a dark red.

"Is that all you have, Fire Cracker?" Naruto's voice broke everyone from their thoughts. Many were flabbergasted at his brazen disrespect to the Princess, and in front of the Fire Lord, no less. Azula's snarl deepened. "This is sorta kinda fun, but I really don't have all day, ya know?"

"Silence!" Azula snapped, propelling herself forward again with her flames, wanting nothing more than to leave a smear of the blonde on the stone below them. Naruto would humor her this time as she closed the distance. Azula punched forward with a flame-engulfed fist, aiming directly at his torso. Naruto brought a hand up and re-directed her attack, palming her forearm to avoid the fire that gathered around her fist. Another punch, with her other hand, Azula tried again to land a blow, but it ended up with the same result, palmed aside and leaving Naruto unscathed. Her anger slowly began to rise and Azula tried again and again, pressing forward her attack with Firefist after Firefist to try and scorch the infuriating man before her.

 **(Sidelines - Mai and Ty Lee)**

"Zuly's mad, I think." Ty Lee observed thoughtfully, tapping her chin in a mock-contemplative manner.

"You seem very unconcerned with the circumstances, Ty Lee." Mai noted, turning her gaze from the fight before them and to her brunette friend.

"I mean, I love Zuly and all, but we all saw what happened when we tried to fight that guy. How many of us were there? Seven?" Ty Lee grinned wide, leaning back to regard Mai with an upside down stare. "This is a good thing, though." She added.

Mai's brow raised questionably. "How so?"

"We get to see more of cutie, duh." Ty Lee answered in an almost 'isn't it obvious?' tone. Mai rolled her eyes. "Besides, if I know the Fire Lord - which I don't, not really - but I can at least say he'll be interested in this guy after this."

"You assume that if this 'Naruto' wins-?"

"If?"

"-then the Fire Lord will... what?"

Ty Lee shrugged. "Beats me."

Mai sighed again. "Your thought process is difficult for me to grasp, Ty Lee."

 **( The** **Agni Kai** **)**

Opening after opening presented itself, but Naruto was not yet inclined to take advantage of them, instead keeping on the defensive and wearing down the Princess's stamina. Azula's brow dripped with sweat - both from exertion and the constant heat of the flames flying in front of her. Her nostrils were flared as she tried to keep her breathing steady, but she had not been in a fight that lasted this long before. Every opponent she had thus far had proved weak compared to her and the fight had been over quickly. The most infuriating part? She knew Naruto was toying with her. She was prideful, but not stupid. The hope and confidence she had displayed in the beginning of the fight was slipping quickly. Observing the blonde's features only furthered her despair. He seemed not even winded, even after this onslaught of blows she was attempting to land.

"You have potential, Azula." Her opponent's voice snapped Azula from her thoughts. "You're unrefined - just a walking firebomb right now. Imagine what you could do with proper training." He noted.

What was he getting at? Of course she had training! She wouldn't be where she was now if she didn't! Whatever Naruto was trying to accomplish, for now it only seemed to aggravate the Princess further. "Shut up!" Azula growled, her snarl and glare showing through the blue ember around them.

Naruto 'tsk'ed. "And a temper. Anger only takes you so far, Fire Cracker." With that, Naruto capitalized on an opening. Her redirected an attack from her one last time, before planting his foot in-between Azula's legs and driving an elbow forward into her stomach. Azula's eyes widened at the sudden and sharp pain, her mouth opening - spittle flying from her lips and beads of sweat flying off her forehead and landing on Naruto's skin. Dipping down, placing a hand on the ground, Naruto spun and delivered a kick to Azula's torso.

The Princess had barely managed to form an 'X' with her arms to try and block the attack, but she was still sent flying back, skidding across the ground - no doubt leaving a few scuff marks on her exposed back. It wasn't a burn from fire, though, so her torment would continue for now. Naruto stood up, his stance dropping as he leveled an even stare on Azula as she stood back up slowly.

Azula mumbled something through grit teeth as she stood up, her legs shaking slightly.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" Azula shouted, swinging her fist in front of her for emphasis on her anger. "Don't look down on me! You have NO idea what I've been through to get this strong! The burns I've received!"

Naruto supposed he could sympathize. To dedicate yourself for so long and even still to be completely outclassed - to be helpless. _'Hmm... maybe...'_ He seemed to be mulling over something. _'.. I have been complaining about how bored I am lately.'_

"Never again will you, or anyone, look at me like that!" Azula's shout brought Naruto back to reality and he was acutely aware of the crackling of energy forming around her fists. Sparks of lightning licked against her hands and off the ground around her.

 _'Oh, right. She can do that.'_

The lightning's energy intensified, shooting off sporadically from her hands. It was evident she was not entirely in control of the attack she was preparing, but steeled her resolve to fire it off nonetheless. Naruto had to commend her for, at least, her spirit. "But you're not the only one who can play with lightning." Azula didn't hear, instead reeling her hands back, then shooting the forward again, lightning firing from her fingertips at the blonde in one fast, crackling, beam.

 _'Ox, Rabbit, Monkey.'_ Naruto flashed through the necessary handseals, then gathered the lightning chakra in his hand. " **Raiton: Chidori(Lightning Release: One-Thousand Birds)**!" The **Chidori** came to life in-hand immediately, the iconic sound that mimicked birds chirping heard across the arena. Onlookers watched with amazement at what they were seeing. This shock only intensified when Naruto dashed forward, bringing his **Chidori** forward to cut through Azula's lightning and causing the lightning attack to dissipate in mid-air.

Azula barely had time to widen her eyes as Naruto closed the distance on her at a rate of speed she wasn't prepared for. The lightning he held in his hand - the sound of angry birds getting closer and closer to her - it would be an experience she would not forget. It was over in seconds, Naruto closing the distance on her and bringing his hand back to prepare to thrust into Azula's heart, his blue gaze hardened and laced with killing intent. Azula could only close her eyes in acceptance. This was her death.

A gasp from the crowd was heard, every person present leaning forward at the scene before them. Even Mai and Ty Lee's mouths were open in astonishment, both of their eyes wide in surprise.

 **(. . .)**

 _Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp_

Azula cracked one eye open at the sound in front of her, her body tense - arms up as if to brace herself. She was greeted by the sight of the **Chidori** up close and personal, hovering inches from her chest - the lightning that crackled from Naruto's hands kissing against her that would peel bits of skin from her body. Naruto let the attack dissipate, his murderous stare quickly vanishing. He then sharply poked Azula's forehead with his index and middle finger.

There was no real force behind the act, but Azula still stumbled back, landing on her rear - her legs still shaking, gaze still wide and disbelieving. Naruto grinned down at her. "I win." He declared simply, noting the small burns on her body from the previous proximity to his Chidori.

The crowd was silent, their minds yet to have completely caught up with their eyes.

Fire Lord Ozai only smirked widely atop his throne.

 **(Chapter End)**

 **Aaaaand that's a wrap. Please; do be so kind and tell me what you think by leaving a quick review. If you liked what you read, then like, comment, and subscribe. If you didn't like what you read, then like, comment, and subscribe.**

 **Real life is getting a little off the rails, but it was slightly therapeutic to write something out. I know there are some who would have preferred an update to either of my Bleach stories, but, you know. Stuff happens.**

 **That's all folks. Initial Author's Notes don't have much to address, but I'm sure I'll have some shit to clear up here and there in the next chapter. Till next time.**


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